DHL / Customs scam ?

[Just Weird]

18 hours ago, melvinmelvin said:

ye ye ye, re dhl and great job

while in LoS have had some DHL stuff sent to me

one from us

two from uk

two from netherlands

one from germany

three from norway

not a single one has ever reached me, great job indeed

 

my address is not tricky

3 clicks away there is a huge dhl distribution centre

 

use thailand post

 

DHL always ask for a phone number for the recipient in case of difficulty in delivering, what happened when they called you to ask about delivery an all those nine occasions?

[Just Weird]

21 hours ago, tonboy said:

recently I bought on Yahoo Auctions in Japan a secondhand rear seat of a Toyota Crown. I payed 1800 thb for it. I asked DHL to ship it to Chiang Mai. 
Shipping cost € 474,00 (approx. 17500 thb) for this, due to the fact this rear seat is large. Now DHL is telling me that I have to pay 17000 thb for import duty + VAT

They gave the following reason :
"Clearance team DHL informed me that shipment value 5240 THB because customs request clearance team to increase value 200 THB per kg. (26.2 KG actual weight) . And for freight charge it is a customs regulation to calculate freight zone charge per kg. (freight zone charge is not a real freight charge that you pay to courier or shipper but it is a freight zone charge per kg that shipment import to Thailand according to customs regulation. Customs will use the highest weight to calculate freight zone (In this case, customs use volume weight to calculate 92.5 kg x 590 THB per kg.)"

This looks really really much to much import duties. According to the website Customs.go.th Import duties are calculated based on value of the goods CIF.
http://en.customs.go.th/cont_strc_simple.php?lang=en&left_menu=menu_customs_valuation&current_id=14223132414a505f4c
so 1800 + 16500 thb is 18300 thb.
The weight of the goods is 26.2 kilograms.
Weight to calculate freight zone 26.2 kg x 590 THB per kg = 15458 thb . but DHL uses 92.5 kg x 590 thb !!!

IS THAT CORRECT ?

remember, the actual goods CIF only cost me 18300 thb, now dhl charge me import duty + VAT of 17000 thb....... 93 % extra.....

I feel this is not fair and they are ripping me off.

DHL (and all the other courier companies) officially collect any duty that is payable on behalf of the Customs Dept and they always provide a receipt that details the charges.   If there is no receipt (unlikely) ask for one.  The amount of duty can change if Customs suspect that the value of the item has been wrongly declared by the sender.

 

"Customs will use the highest weight to calculate freight zone (In this case, customs use volume weight to calculate 92.5 kg x 590 THB per kg.)"

I suspect that "volume weight" is not the same as "weight".

 

If you disagree with the charges you can dispute the duty and the case will then go to Customs for a decision.  Then you have to pick up the item yourself from Chaeng Wattana!

 

The Customs Dept has a helpful, English-speaking help line that will confirm rates of duty etc.  They have helped me out with queries on two occasions recently.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Just Weird

[Just Weird]

17 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Plus while you haggle about charges,they are going to start charging you

storage charges !

regards worgeordie

No, they're not.

[Just Weird]

1 hour ago, laochef said:

Never ever use DHL-Thailand !!! iherb, a very large supplement company, has now totally stopped using DHL in Thailand.

Local Post, expedited is the way to go, IMHO.

 

Well, if iherb says so it must be true.

[Just Weird]

49 minutes ago, bluesea said:

Past experiences never ship DHL,TNT or UPS they have there own In house Customs and always charge the earth use any of the Postal services and see the difference no charges at all

The charges are official Customs Dept charges apart from a small charge that some of those make for collecting the duty on behalf of Customs.  They always give a receipt that can be queried.

[thaiguzzi]

35 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

What happened to the DHL tracking system?  What did DHL say?

I'm sorry but I've used DHL etc for over 30 years and never had an issue like this.

May i ask if you ever shipped larger items like a motorcycle fuel tank or anything with a higher value, say $300 up?

Or was it always small jiffy bag/small box items with a value under $100.

Makes a difference.

A big difference.

[Just Weird]

38 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

What happened to the DHL tracking system?  What did DHL say?

I'm sorry but I've used DHL etc for over 30 years and never had an issue like this.

Probably melvinmelvin hasn't either...or there's a big chunk of nine stories missing that he's not letting on about!

[melvinmelvin]

33 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

DHL always ask for a phone number for the recipient in case of difficulty in delivering, what happened when they called you to ask about delivery an all those nine occasions?

they didn't call

they had the number

they had my email

 

[melvinmelvin]

42 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

What happened to the DHL tracking system?  What did DHL say?

I'm sorry but I've used DHL etc for over 30 years and never had an issue like this.

never talked to DHL

 

for some of these, after getting tired of waiting, checking tracking, see message - can't deliver - returned

 

[seancbk]

6 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

44 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

What happened to the DHL tracking system?  What did DHL say?

I'm sorry but I've used DHL etc for over 30 years and never had an issue like this.

May i ask if you ever shipped larger items like a motorcycle fuel tank or anything with a higher value, say $300 up?

Or was it always small jiffy bag/small box items with a value under $100.

Makes a difference.

A big difference.

 

Yes I have (computer systems) and there is no difference what you ship with DHL.   There is always a tracking number that you can check online to see where your package is.

And *if* a package goes missing you can always contact DHL to trace what happened to it.

 

[thaiguzzi]

6 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

apart from a small charge that some of those make for collecting the duty on behalf of Customs. 

Small ???

Do you work for DHL?

27 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

DHL (and all the other courier companies) officially collect any duty that is payable on behalf of the Customs Dept and they always provide a receipt that details the charges.

As does the Thai PO.

But at least they don't make stuff up between Customs valuations and your front door.

[melvinmelvin]

7 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

Probably melvinmelvin hasn't either...or there's a big chunk of nine stories missing that he's not letting on about!

you are quite impertinent and rude

shame on you

 

[Kerryd]

All I can say is that yes, it is a rip-off.

 

Thailand takes the cost of an item/shipment, adds the cost of the shipping and any insurance costs to get a total that they then calculate the duty on. 

Then they add the 7% VAT onto that total, so you are paying a tax on the tax.

 

DHL and other courier companies use "3rd Party Brokers" to do all their Customs Clearance paperwork. Those companies calculate the costs and, naturally, add their own fees on top. Then they may even add an additional fee to actually deliver it to your residence ! (I love it when UPS does that. They do the paperwork for the shipment in Bangkok, then charge you an additional fee to send it to your home despite already having been paid for that in the initial shipping charges.)

Looking at a UPS invoice I have sitting here, I had a shipment last December valued at $156 US (about 5,580 baht. 2.7 kgs total weight).
I got dinged 3,040 baht in total charges, including a 200 baht "disbursement" fee (that had 7% VAT added to it was well). So about 54% in duties and additional charges.

However, I recently had a motorcycle windshield I bought from eBay delivered from Hong Kong by registered mail and it arrived by Thai post (EMS). I had to go to the post office to collect it - and pay a 900 baht fee for duties.

That isn't the first time it has happened. I had to lol because the shipper had valued the shipment at $8.00.

Normally, if I get a shipment that is valued under $50, it sails right through without any delay or additional charges. Stuff valued between $50-100 is "hit or miss" as sometimes I get charged and sometimes I don't. Shipments over $100 usually get nailed for extra duties.

 

The worst though, was when I shipped stuff with DHL (or a vendor sent me something using DHL or UPS). I shipped some personal effects from Afghanistan when I finished working (because the company was paying for the shipping). Used clothing, bedding, toiletries, used work boots and so on. I gave it a value of $1,000 US (35,000 baht). The DHL Customs Broker wanted 17,000 baht to process and deliver the shipment. I was able to use a private broker and get it done for 12,000 and of that, I think less than 2,000 was for the actual Duty. (Took 8 hours and 12,000 baht to get what I could have carried through the airport and brought in for no charge at all.)

So, EMS/Registered Mail isn't always going to be "duty free" but will probably, in many cases, be cheaper than using a courier company. I know the route to the Customs Office in Laem Chabang by heart now as I've made that trip quite a few times (for stuff sent via Registered Mail) and really don't want to deal with the Free Zone at Suvarnabhumi again if I don't have to.

 

[thaiguzzi]

1 minute ago, seancbk said:

 

Yes I have (computer systems) and there is no difference what you ship with DHL.   There is always a tracking number that you can check online to see where your package is.

And *if* a package goes missing you can always contact DHL to trace what happened to it.

 

I'm not talking about stuff going missing and never have.

I'm talking about excess charges (for nothing) and excess valuations.

This is the problem with couriers in TH with large items or high valuation parcels.

It does not happen with the Thai PO.

[janclaes47]

3 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

I'm not talking about stuff going missing and never have.

I'm talking about excess charges (for nothing) and excess valuations.

This is the problem with couriers in TH with large items or high valuation parcels.

It does not happen with the Thai PO.

Items valued above 1500 baht sent by Thai post also get duty charges.

 

And they don't call you upfront

Edited November 8, 2018 by janclaes47

[thaiguzzi]

3 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

All I can say is that yes, it is a rip-off.

 

Thailand takes the cost of an item/shipment, adds the cost of the shipping and any insurance costs to get a total that they then calculate the duty on. 

Then they add the 7% VAT onto that total, so you are paying a tax on the tax.

 

DHL and other courier companies use "3rd Party Brokers" to do all their Customs Clearance paperwork. Those companies calculate the costs and, naturally, add their own fees on top. Then they may even add an additional fee to actually deliver it to your residence ! (I love it when UPS does that. They do the paperwork for the shipment in Bangkok, then charge you an additional fee to send it to your home despite already having been paid for that in the initial shipping charges.)

Looking at a UPS invoice I have sitting here, I had a shipment last December valued at $156 US (about 5,580 baht. 2.7 kgs total weight).
I got dinged 3,040 baht in total charges, including a 200 baht "disbursement" fee (that had 7% VAT added to it was well). So about 54% in duties and additional charges.

However, I recently had a motorcycle windshield I bought from eBay delivered from Hong Kong by registered mail and it arrived by Thai post (EMS). I had to go to the post office to collect it - and pay a 900 baht fee for duties.

That isn't the first time it has happened. I had to lol because the shipper had valued the shipment at $8.00.

Normally, if I get a shipment that is valued under $50, it sails right through without any delay or additional charges. Stuff valued between $50-100 is "hit or miss" as sometimes I get charged and sometimes I don't. Shipments over $100 usually get nailed for extra duties.

 

The worst though, was when I shipped stuff with DHL (or a vendor sent me something using DHL or UPS). I shipped some personal effects from Afghanistan when I finished working (because the company was paying for the shipping). Used clothing, bedding, toiletries, used work boots and so on. I gave it a value of $1,000 US (35,000 baht). The DHL Customs Broker wanted 17,000 baht to process and deliver the shipment. I was able to use a private broker and get it done for 12,000 and of that, I think less than 2,000 was for the actual Duty. (Took 8 hours and 12,000 baht to get what I could have carried through the airport and brought in for no charge at all.)

So, EMS/Registered Mail isn't always going to be "duty free" but will probably, in many cases, be cheaper than using a courier company. I know the route to the Customs Office in Laem Chabang by heart now as I've made that trip quite a few times (for stuff sent via Registered Mail) and really don't want to deal with the Free Zone at Suvarnabhumi again if I don't have to.

 

Thank you.

It's why some UK shops that sell worldwide m/c parts have now stopped using DHL through too many customer complaints.

I'm happy to pay 60GBP shipping on a 210GBP fuel tank. I'm even happy (sorta) to pay the Thai PO 37% import duty and vat  on pick up from the PO or on my doorstep.

What i am not happy about is paying DHL 100% or even 200% mark up on my original cost of item even AFTER the shipping costs in the country of origin.

DHL/UPS/ Fed Ex Thailand = thieves of the highest order and DHL are top of the pile.

[thaiguzzi]

8 minutes ago, janclaes47 said:

Items valued above 1500 baht sent by Thai post also get duty charges.

 

And they don't call you upfront

I've never had charges on valuations of 80GBP or under via the Thai PO. Ever.

And i get a lot of stuff sent here, over the years, mainly m/c parts or machine tool accessories or measurement instruments from the UK or USA, occasionally Europe & Australia.

This past week i've had 3 parcels from the USA, all valued around 75$ inc postage, via the PO, zero charges.

 

[Kerryd]

18 hours ago, worgeordie said:

Plus while you haggle about charges,they are going to start charging you

storage charges !

regards worgeordie

 

40 minutes ago, Just Weird said:

No, they're not.

Actually - they do.

On the DHL shipment I mentioned above, I was going to be dinged 1,000 baht/day for storage in the Customs Bonded warehouse, for a box that had been there for a day. DHL covered the charge because they admitted they'd screwed up by delivering the first box of the shipment (even though it clearly said "1 of 2") so they did whatever they do and I didn't have to pay the charges. (Properly, it seems DHL should have held the first box until the 2nd one arrived and then processed them together. I wouldn't have been charged storage fees until after the 2nd box arrived.)

 

However, had both boxes arrived at the same time and I took my sweet time getting to Bangkok to try and get them released, I would have been dinged the 1,000 baht/day "storage" fee

[seancbk]

17 minutes ago, thaiguzzi said:

I'm not talking about stuff going missing and never have.

I'm talking about excess charges (for nothing) and excess valuations.

This is the problem with couriers in TH with large items or high valuation parcels.

It does not happen with the Thai PO.

 

My comment was in response to MelvinMelvin saying :-

19 hours ago, melvinmelvin said:

no, nothing missing

most of the shipments were returned to sender, some just vanished in the blue </end quote>


I was asking him what happened with the tracking of his shipment(s) as he claimed 9 shipments had not been delivered and some hadn't even made it back to the sender.

I use courier services when I want something really quick and the cost isn't an issue.   For example the latest phone, where I might be willing to pay 3-4 times the price just to be the first person I know with that particular new phone.   For most stuff I order speed of delivery is secondary and so I just use regular airmail.   

Only time I've had anything go missing was some document I sent EMS from Bangkok to Hong Kong.

 

[windas]

Hi.

Funny thing is that some kind of scam is giong on in the UK regarding DHL.

 

I ordered some goods via an airline air miles and another via ebay. I received constant voice texts on my landline before the goods were delivered that I owed customs duty + vat. The amount requested came to more than the goods were worth, so I wasn't  bothered if they kept them.

The goods were eventualy delivered with no mention of any charges. I never paid any charges and have heard no more scince.

 

So I must assume it was some kind of scam, but someone knew the goods were going through the system to invoke a scam.

 

Given up sending goods to Thailand, for some reason they never get delivered. I use a friend to carry goods there where they get picked up from the hotel reception.

 

 

[melvinmelvin]

38 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

Yes I have (computer systems) and there is no difference what you ship with DHL.   There is always a tracking number that you can check online to see where your package is.

And *if* a package goes missing you can always contact DHL to trace what happened to it.

 

 

I find your comment somewhat strange.

I pay top dollar for hassle free door to door delivery, my interest is to have the stuff delivered.

If it is not delivered it is of no interest to me to know why it was not delivered.

"what happened to it" is just fairy tale - of no interest to me

 

[jackdd]

41 minutes ago, Kerryd said:

Normally, if I get a shipment that is valued under $50, it sails right through without any delay or additional charges. Stuff valued between $50-100 is "hit or miss" as sometimes I get charged and sometimes I don't. Shipments over $100 usually get nailed for extra duties. 

I recently ordered motorbike mirrors from the USA, which were sent with USPS.

The shipment had the correct value of about 130 USD declared on the outside, it just arrived without having to pay any duties.

But one mirror was broken, so the seller sent a replacement mirror.

This time i got a notification that i have to pick the package up at the customs office in Nong Khai (I'm in Udon Thani), called them if they are serious, yes they are.

So i went to the customs office there (just a 60km drive one way...) to pick up the package. It had a declared value of 0 USD and "replacement part" or something similar written on it.

I had to open the package there, they wanted to see what is inside. Didn't have to pay any duties.

Edited November 8, 2018 by jackdd

[l4ml4m]

555 some people still dont know !!!

 

 

[seancbk]

35 minutes ago, melvinmelvin said:

1 hour ago, seancbk said:

 

Yes I have (computer systems) and there is no difference what you ship with DHL.   There is always a tracking number that you can check online to see where your package is.

And *if* a package goes missing you can always contact DHL to trace what happened to it.

 

 

I find your comment somewhat strange.

I pay top dollar for hassle free door to door delivery, my interest is to have the stuff delivered.

If it is not delivered it is of no interest to me to know why it was not delivered.

"what happened to it" is just fairy tale - of no interest to me

 

Surely you use the tracking system to see where it is during transit?   And if it says it was delivered (but wasn't) surely you would call or email DHL to tell them there was a problem?   

Or do you just sit there and do nothing.......  

[melvinmelvin]

14 minutes ago, seancbk said:

 

Surely you use the tracking system to see where it is during transit?   And if it says it was delivered (but wasn't) surely you would call or email DHL to tell them there was a problem?   

Or do you just sit there and do nothing.......  

 

well kind of, yes,

mostly just sit there and do nothing - apart from being busy working with my things

 

works 100% with Amazon, works 100% with the few other courier deliveries I have arranged,

works perfect for courier within Thailand

 

listen, I pay top dollar for no hassle an door to door delivery, upto DHL to serve,

they have the money - they have the address - they have the phone number - they have the email - they screw up big time

 

no, I do not follow the tracking, it is of zilch interest to me where the parcel is on so and so date

I only want delivery and that is up to DHL

 

bloody hell,

dhl is a huge world wide delivery company, why should I waste time baby sitting them?

 

 

 

 

 

[Formaleins]

22 hours ago, CharlieH said:

Dont know how many more times people need to be told not to use courier companies.☹wherever possible.

DHL being the absolute worst of the bunch

[Foexie]

I had the same experiences with DHL in my country.

 

I had send a few boxes from the US to my home with DHL and i Always did get a letter after that i did had to pay extra costs for customs etc. The min costs were around 11€ and mostly the containing from the boxes was around 25-30€.

 

So after that i used regular standart US postal service (what was an option on the website) and i never had that issue anymore. Never had any complain or extra bill from the customs either.

 

So i will never use DHL anymore if i can avoid it.

 

 

 

 

[CGW]

2 hours ago, thaiguzzi said:

I've never had charges on valuations of 80GBP or under via the Thai PO. Ever.

And i get a lot of stuff sent here, over the years, mainly m/c parts or machine tool accessories or measurement instruments from the UK or USA, occasionally Europe & Australia.

This past week i've had 3 parcels from the USA, all valued around 75$ inc postage, via the PO, zero charges.

 

We have similar experiences! I get at least one parcel a week and have for many years via either USPS or Royal Mail, never once had a problem.

One thing I will guarantee is if you tell DHL to return to sender you will never see a refund!

[Pedrogaz]

Pay the extra 17000 and get on with your life. No sense worrying about it. 

[Pdavies99]

To be clear, the first time I was in this situation, I argued with DHL and customs etc for a month and in the end I refused the item and so they just loaded it over the fence and left it at my house, end of issue.  (No payment made)

 

Since then when I have fallen foul of DHL I have refused acceptance of the item and in due course received a full refund.

 

Lesson learnt??? Do not ever use DHL.    Rather Thai Post never an issue.

Edited November 8, 2018 by Pdavies99